Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2025-26 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, no players who were traded away, and none of the deep bench centers, since they were both irrelevant and are now all gone).
Dylan Harper
2025-26 stats: 69 games, 22.6 MPG, 11.8 points, 3.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 50.5 FG%, 34.3 3FG%
Contract Status: 3 years, $43 million remaining (team option for 2027-28 and 2028-29)
Age: 20
The San Antonio Spurs went from a plucky young team to a full-blown contender, largely thanks to the addition of rookie guard Dylan Harper. In his first season, Harper established himself as an untouchable part of the Spurs’ core, the future running mate of Victor Wembanyama, and a potential All-NBA-caliber player. (spoiler alert: he’s getting a good grade!)
One of the biggest questions coming into the regular season was how Mitch Johnson would handle his guard rotation. The Spurs had just traded for De’Aaron Fox and signed him to a max contract, Stephon Castle was coming off a Rookie of the Year season, and Harper was selected with the second-overall pick. That logjam left Harper with a bench role, despite his pedigree. He accepted that role and instantly transformed the Spurs’ bench, giving them a downhill scoring threat who could seemingly get to the rim whenever he wanted this season.
It’s rare to see rookie guards with Harper’s combination of poise, patience, footwork and finishing ability at his age. Harper shot 66% at the rim this season, converting around the basket with both hands going through and around defenders. His combination of size and athleticism makes him not only a difficult player to contain offensively, but a positive defender with room to grow as he gets used to the NBA game.
His regular season performance earned him All-Rookie first-team honors in a loaded class. What fans will remember most from Harper’s rookie year is his postseason performance. It’s not that bold of a take to say the Spurs might not have made it out of the first round of the playoffs if Harper hadn’t stepped up. After Wembanyama went down with a concussion in Game Two against the Blazers, the Spurs found themselves down big in Game Three on the road. Harper responded with a second-half explosion that gave San Antonio the series lead and completely revived the Spurs.
Harper went on to be one of San Antonio’s most reliable players in the playoffs. In fact, he may have been the Spurs’ best player in the NBA Finals. By the end of the series, San Antonio was actively going to Harper in the clutch to get them buckets. At 20 years old, Harper was scoring 20+ points on the biggest stage against the NBA champions. In just one year, Harper established himself as one of the league’s most exciting young players.
Looking ahead
Harper’s playoff performance actually raised more questions about his future with the team than it provided answers. Yes, Harper is undeniably a centerpiece for San Antonio moving forward. The question is how long can the team afford to wait to be given the responsibilities that come along with being a core piece? It’s assumed that Harper will play a bench role in his sophomore season, with Fox and Castle still blocking him from a starting spot. Harper has said publicly that he’s fine with that, but there is already growing pressure from media and fans alike to give him more opportunities.
Harper will likely be the Spurs’ sixth man next year, and finish a majority of games. We should see more of the three-guard lineup with Harper, Castle, and Fox that San Antonio didn’t really utilize until it needed the extra scoring pop in the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Harper will be their primary option off the bench and likely the third or fourth option in the closing lineup. That is a gradual, and earned step up in responsibilities from his rookie year, and should be a nice stepping stone to an eventual spot in the starting lineup in the years to come.
He still needs to improve in a few key areas if he’s going to get more responsibility. Harper isn’t as strong of a playmaker as Fox or Castle yet. If he’s given the keys to the second unit, it would be great to see him make strides in running the offense and making his teammates better. His three-point shooting started to improve as the season went along, as he shot 48% from three in 26 games after the All-Star break. He also had some big shooting games in the playoffs. He’ll need to continue improving as an off-ball player with all the other scoring options on San Antonio’s roster.
The expectations for Harper next season will be extremely high. He showed extreme promise as a rookie. If the Spurs want to get back to the NBA Finals and this time leave with a trophy, Harper is sure to be a big part of that. No matter what his role ends up being next season, Harper is sure to make an impact. The question remains how big that impact has to become before he forces the Spurs to adapt the team to maximize his potential.
Top Performance
27 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4-5 from three in Round 1, Game 3 @ Portland Trail Blazers
Final Grade: A
Up next:Keldon Johnson
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Jordan McLaughlin
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Luke Kornet
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